Politics

21, February 2017

South West Chiefs Deputy Secretary says decision to ban Limbe conference unwise and unfortunate ¹

The South West Chiefs Conference, SWECC have raised a finger protesting a decision taken by the Francophone Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Zang III banning the Elective General Assembly of the association. SDO Zang claimed he made the decision after receiving complaints from the Fako Chiefs. The South West traditional rulers were expected to hold a historic forum from Friday the 17^th -Saturday 18^th of February 2017 at the Limbe City Council hall. The civil administrator cited social tension and security threats as main reasons for the ban.

The Deputy Secretary General of SWECC, His Royal Highness Chief Robinson Tanyi on behalf of the outgoing President Senator Nfon VE Mukete observed that the ban was ill-advised, unwise and an unfortunate situation. Chief Tanyi Robinson pointed out that SWECC is made up of persons of value and honor including Senators, Parliamentarians, senior administrators, army Generals among others all of whom are men of exceptional standing and quality and ally to the Yaoundé regime. The much respected Upper Banyang Chief further noted that the custodians of the South West tradition have never breached the peace of the nation nor participated in public disorder of any kind that can jeopardize the security apparatus of the state.

Cameroun Info.Net reported that while averring to respect the ban, the chiefs in a statement said, “Article 11 cited in the letter on the election of officers is an internal affair that calls for no interpretation and influence from non members and public officials. You only need to read it well and with goodwill to understand it hasn’t the interpretation given and if at all it does supersede the Fako statutes referred to.”

The South West Chief’s conference is suffering from a deadlock witnessed within Fako Chiefs conference which is expected to produce a single candidate to represent the division. While the people of Buea think that it is time to choose a president, those from Limbe think otherwise. Other faction thinks that HRH Chief Njombe Johnson of Wokaka village presented as candidate is too young and not fit to ran the body.

18, February 2017

US: Dems openly saying Trump may not be mentally fit to serve ⁰

A growing number of Democrats are openly saying that Donald Trump may not be mentally fit to serve as the president of the United States. Mental health professionals have already warned that President Trump is showing “classic signs” of mental illness, including “malignant narcissism.” A Washington, DC-based newspaper, The Hill, reported on Friday that several Democratic lawmakers are also now questioning President Trump’s mental health.

In a floor speech this week, Earl Blumenauer, a Representative from Oregon, demanded a review of the Constitution’s procedures for removing a president if he is mentally unstable. The Congressman said the 25th Amendment of the Constitution falls short when it comes to mental or emotional fitness for the office of the president.

Senator Al Franken from Minnesota told CNN during a weekend interview that Trump’s mental health is a source of great concern for some of his Republican colleagues as well. Asked by the host if it is “true that Republican colleagues of yours express concerns about President Trump’s mental health,” Franken replied, “A few… There’s not a majority of them.”

Meanwhile, a Representative from California, Ted Lieu, is set to introduce a bill that would require the presence of a psychiatrist or psychologist in the White House to check on the president. The Democrats argue that Trump’s habit of making demonstrably false claims show that something is wrong with him. President Trump at a press conference on Thursday claimed that he had the biggest Electoral College victory since former Republican President Ronald Reagan, for example, while his margin was lower than either of President Barack Obama’s wins.

Blumenauer told The Hill he started talking about the review of the 25th Amendment because Trump has repeatedly made ludicrous claims, such as insisting that it wasn’t raining during his speech on Inauguration Day on January 20 at Capitol Hill when it was. “It’s not normal behavior. I don’t know anybody in a position of responsibility that doesn’t know if they’re being rained on. And nobody I work with serially offers up verifiably false statements on an ongoing basis,” he said.

For decades, psychologists and psychiatrists have kept silent about their diagnostic opinions of public figures in accordance with ethical rules set out by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). However, thousands of mental health professionals have signed a Change.org petition declaring the US president “is mentally ill and must be removed.”

Thirty-five psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers have sent a letter to The New York Times saying that “the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump’s speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president.” Psychologists have also begun questioning Trump’s state of mind because of the type of temperament and behavior he has displayed during his public appearances. Most recently, John D. Gartner, a practicing psychotherapist who taught psychiatric residents at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, said Trump “is dangerously mentally ill and temperamentally incapable of being president,” according to The Independent.

Gartner believes Trump shows signs of “malignant narcissism,” which is defined as a combination of narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, aggression and sadism. But some other mental health professionals are concerned that political actors suggesting that their opponent has psychological problems risks stigmatizing people with actual mental illnesses. “I think the politicization is troubling,” said Joshua Miller, a psychologist at the University of Georgia whose research focuses on pathological personality traits and personality disorders. “We certainly wouldn’t want individuals to use mental illness as a weapon to harm others.”

Congressman Lieu however argued that the mental health of a person who is in control of the nation’s nuclear codes must be scrutinized. “I think it is a legitimate issue to raise. I am not a mental health professional, so I don’t know in terms of any sort of medical expertise on this. But I do see and hear the same things that other people see and hear, and a lot of people have concluded that what’s going on is not normal. So what do I do with that as a member of Congress?” he told The Hill. “Anyone who can launch 4,000 nuclear weapons in minutes absolutely should be questioned on any matter related to their physical and mental health,” he stated.

Presstv

17, February 2017

Cameroon gov’t spokesman presents fake assessment of the Anglophone crisis ⁶

Cameroon government spokesman and Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has once again presented a fake report on the atrocities committed by troops loyal to the regime in Yaoundé. Of the more than 800 Anglophones arrested so far from the Bamenda and Buea provinces of Southern Cameroons, the controversial Nordist politician disclosed that only 82 people were in police drag net in the wake of the ongoing crisis in the North West and South West regions.

Issa Tchiroma observed that out of the 82, 21 were subsequently released. “Of the 61 persons still under detention, 31 are awaiting trial before the competent court, namely, the Yaoundé Military Court,” Issa Tchiroma Bakary said during a press conference in Yaounde on Wednesday February 15. Those awaiting trial include Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla and Fontem Aforteka’a Neba, leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), whose existence had previously been declared null and void.

Issa Tchiroma avoided questions on Anglophones that have been killed so far in places like Jakiri, Buea, Kumbo Bamenda and Kumba. He said Southern Cameroonians arrested are prosecuted for acts of terrorism, hostility against the fatherland, secession, revolution, insurgency, and contempt of the President of the Republic, contempt of the constituted bodies and civil servants, group rebellion, civil war, dissemination of false news, apology for crimes and are tried under the 2014 anti-terrorism law.

Though the aforementioned activists pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance last February 13, they could be sentenced to death should the court eventually find them guilty. “To these main charges, we should envisage to add those that could eventually stem from their foreseeable consequences,” the government spokesman told the press.

In an apparent response to popular opinion and some media reports, Issa Tchiroma said none of the defendants is prosecuted for the mere fact of having participated in a strike, having masterminded or participated in a peaceful demonstration.

“It should be indicated that each of the accused persons benefits from the presumption of innocence, which means that they remain innocent until the court establishes whether or not they are guilty at the end of the trial,” the communication Minister stated.

Justifying why those arrested are standing trial in Yaoundé whereas they were arrested in the North West and South West regions with military tribunals, he said the Yaoundé Military Court is a court of national jurisdiction, “empowered to exercise its powers over the entire National territory in the event of serious threats to public order, State security and in case of acts of terrorism.”

Cameroun Info. net

15, February 2017

Senator George Weah meets President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana ⁰

Senator and former world and European best footballer, George Oppong Weah made a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Accra to President Nana Akufo-Addo to congratulate him on his election as President of Ghana. Weah took advantage of his meeting with Akufo-Addo to invite him not only to strengthen the bilateral relations between Liberia and Ghana but also to support a credible election in Liberia on October 10, 2017.

The new occupant of Flagstaff House in Accra thanked Weah for his visit and promised that the links between Ghana and Liberia will be strengthened and that Ghana will continue to support and defends democracy in the countries of the region.

The Liberian senator also saluted the endurance of Akufo-Addo, who got elected president after running for the third time. The visit of George Oppong Weah comes after the one made last week in Accra by Didier Drogba, the Ivorian football legend.

By Chi Prudence Asong

14, February 2017

Southern Cameroons: Highlights of the Road map for Independence Restoration ¹

A detailed road-map showing several steps, strategic actions and campaigns expected to culminate on Sunday, 1 October 2017 in Buea, South West Region, with the restoration by an Interim Congress of the independence of Southern Cameroons was released Sunday at a townhall meeting in Maryland, USA. The road-map has been put together by the Movement for the Restoration of the Independence of Southern Cameroons (MoRISC) whose objective is to use all non-violent ways to enthrone a government based on popular consent, deriving authority and legitimacy from the people of Southern Cameroons, not from decrees or the might of the Government of La Republique which, since 1961, has been injurious to citizens’ rights to life, freedom, independence, equality and dignity.

Here are a few highlights from the road map:

Effective 1 January 2017 and lasting until 30 September 2017 – Ghost Towns, once a week (every Monday); a Prayer for the Peaceful Restoration of Independence to be said in all churches on Sundays and all mosques on Fridays across Southern Cameroons; Governors, SDOs, Dos, to be de-legitimized as colonial officers to be replaced by elected officials such as councilors, mayors, MPs and Senators. The House of Chiefs and Fons to be reconstituted as the Upper Chamber of the New Interim Congress whose Lower Chamber will include elected officials and leaders of other organizations (trade unions of lawyers, teachers, student unions, Okada taxi bike riders, women’s groups, etc.)

Once every month until September 2017 – Southern Cameroonians to hold a monthly day of shaming colonialism in street protests outside the homes of residents.

Boycott Campaigns – A series of boycotts are included in the road map. Under the plan, Southern Cameroonian citizens are invited to boycott all events called, organized or presided by Governors, SDOs, and/or DOs seen as colonial officers sent by Yaounde to lord it over the people. Also to be boycotted are celebrations to mark the so-called Youth Day – really Plebiscite Day for Southern Cameroons (11 Feb. 2017); Women’s Day Celebrations (8 March 2017); and the so-called Reunification (20 May 2017).

Ambassadors, Governors, SDOs & DOs in Waiting – The road map envisages the election by Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora of Ambassadors-in-Waiting who will begin lobbying on behalf of the Restoring Independence and Recognition of the New State; the election by elected councilors, mayors, MPs, Senators and Chiefs/Fons of Governors-in-Waiting and of a Government-in-Waiting.

Worldwide Diaspora Conventions – Southern Cameroonian Diaspora worldwide are convened for 11 February 2017, according to the road map, to hold a major conference to, among others, agree ways of raising funds for the struggle.

Interim Government of Southern Cameroons – The House of Chiefs and Fons along with the Lower Chamber of the New Interim Congress of Southern Cameroons will elect the interim government of Southern Cameroons on 21 April 2017, the anniversary of the adoption of the resolution by the United Nations General Assembly granting Southern Cameroons independence.

Sunday, 1 October 2017 – The Interim Government, the New Interim Congress of Southern Cameroons, Ambassadors-in-Waiting, and Delegations from all across Southern Cameroons and the Diaspora convene in Buea, South West Region for the Declaration of the Restoration of Independence.

14, February 2017

Germany: Chancellor Merkel could be voted out ⁰

A new opinion survey in Germany suggests the country’s left-wing political parties can now gather enough votes to oust the ruling government of Chancellor Angela Merkel in September’s polls. The survey, conducted by the INSA institute and due to be published in the Bild newspaper on Tuesday, found that for the first instance “in a long time” a left-of-center coalition would gain sufficient support to force Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) out of office.

According to a report by the German daily prior to the release of the survey results, the country’s three left-leaning parties are now shown to have enough votes since the last election in 2013 to defeat rightist CDU and its sister Bavarian sister party in the next election.

In the 2013 electoral race, the leftist parties failed to form a coalition to defeat Merkel’s CDU party due to lingering opposition by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to alliances with the hard-left Linke Party. Support for all three leftist parties then dropped drastically following the 2013 poll and never recovered until this new survey.

The poll found that the SPD would win 31 percent of the vote, along with 10 percent support for the far-left Linke Party as well as seven percent of votes for the pro-environment Greens Party, adding up to a total of 48 percent and giving the edge to a leftist coalition in the September poll.

The right-wing parties, led by CDU’s 30-percent support, would then be left with 47 percent of the vote, the survey of 2,028 voters found. The remaining five percent would represent much smaller parties. Merkel, however, remains optimistic for a revival of support for her party before the fall election later in the year.

Presstv

14, February 2017

Biya Francophone government announces reforms urging Southern Cameroonians to shun the Consortium ¹

Francophone government officials are multiplying their promises in order to ease the tensions in Southern Cameroons where for more than 8 weeks trade union demands have turned into a political crisis and paralyzed socio-economic activities in the two English speaking regions of the country.

The Francophone authorities are pretending that the socio-political crisis in the North West and South West are problems that affect the education sector in all regions in the country. As a result, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government has decided to give impetus to the education sector. The CPDM government has proposed new methods of examination into technical and scientific schools.

Yaoundé has also announced the creation of a new technical teacher training school (ENSET), – French-speaking, after that of Douala in order to reduce the presence of Francophones in the ENSET of Bambili (North- West) and Kumba (South-West). The government hinted of the establishment of new specialties in the technical education of the Anglophone sub-system and the creation of a polytechnic in Bamenda or Buea to reduce the deficit of Anglophone engineers.

The Francophone regime further announced that 2970 teachers will be contracted during the year 2017, with the objective of reducing the teacher deficit decried in rural areas. However, the interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have dismissed the Yaoundé gesture saying is too little too late. Ghost town operations have resumed all over Southern Cameroons today, Tuesday the 14^th of February 2017.

By Sonne Peter

13, February 2017

US: Trump’s mental health questioned ⁰

US President Donald Trump’s mental health is a source of great concern for some of his Republican colleagues, says a senator. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker, made the comments on CNN’s “State of the Union” released on Sunday.

Asked by the host if it is “true that Republican colleagues of yours express concerns about President Trump’s mental health,” Franken replied, “A few… There’s not a majority of them.” Franken, who is a possible Democratic candidate for the US 2020 presidential candidate further outlined some of the “lies” that could prompt others to think so.

“We all have this suspicion that, you know, he lies a lot. He says things that aren’t true. That’s the same as lying, I guess,” Franken said. “You know, 3 [million] to 5 million people voted illegally,” added the Democraic senator, referring to Trump’s claims that he lost the popular vote against Hillary Clinton because of widespread voter fraud. His critics have on several occasions called for evidence of such fraud but to no avail. “That is not the norm for a president of the United States or actually for a human being,” Franken noted.

Presstv

12, February 2017

North West Fons reveal who is to blame for the Anglophone problem ¹

Members of the North West Fons Union, NOWEFU have written a strongly worded memorandum to President Paul Biya on the situation of the Anglophones in Cameroon. In the document, the Union headed by Senator Fon Teche Njei raised a finger about the growing rate of insecurity in the two English speaking regions of the country.

According to the release, NOWEFU says the All Anglophone Conference I and II, SCNC and other secessionist movements were born because of the precarious conditions Anglophone Cameroonians have been going through since they joined French Cameroon in 1961.

In the Memorandum to President Paul Biya signed by the President General of NOPWEFU, the Unions SG, Fon Zofoa Ndofoa III and Treasurer General Fon Tekouh Simon, the traditional rulers said positive dialogue is the only way in which the people can come out of this impasse. They also regretted the fact that some senior government officials including journalists don’t still believe that there is an Anglophone problem.

Even though they applauded the creation of the Commission on Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, the custodians of the tradition said those appointed into the Commission should have good faith, be honest, patriotic and God-fearing. NOWEFU also trumpeted the call for amnesty to be given to all arrested and the withdrawal of Francophones judges from Anglophone courts.

Cameroun Info.Net

10, February 2017

Biya’s French acolyte to face trial over fraud ⁰

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been summoned to stand trial over allegations of illegally financing his doomed 2012 re-election campaign. The prosecution case against Sarkozy claims that the former president extensively exceeded a spending limit of $24 million by using false billing from a public relations company named Bygmalion, an informed source told AFP on Tuesday.

On February 3, Serge Tournaire, one of two judges in charge of the case, referred the case to the court after Sarkozy’s legal efforts to refute the allegations failed in December, the source said. Instead of billing Sarkozy himself, Bygmalion is said to have charged $19.7 to the former president’s right wing Republican Party – called UMP at the time. The trial will focus on whether Sarkozy himself was aware of the fraud, as Bygmalion’s executives have already acknowledged the existence of fraud and false accounting.

During a questioning session by the police in September 2015, Sarkozy passed the entire blame on Bygmalion and the UMP and slammed the allegations against himself as a “farce.” He claims that he did not remember ever being warned about the accounting. Apart from the Bygmalion case, Sarkozy has been fighting several other legal challenges since losing the 2012 polls to President Francois Hollande.

After a period of retirement, Sarkozy returned to politics to take the helm of the Republicans and sought the nomination to run for president in the upcoming elections in April and May 2017. However, he lost the nomination to his rivals in the Republican Party, former Prime Minister Alain Juppe and ultimate winner Francois Fillon, in November.

Presstv